I write from the comfort of my desk as we sit in Auckland, having arrived here this morning. No photos of the city as yet, for Karen has ‘borrowed’ my camera for the day and on it are this morning’s arrival 👿 (I’m going to have to see if I can find one for her, Hong Kong seems the best place to try).
Yesterday, (which was the 1st), saw us, early in the morning, steaming into the Bay of Islands towards our anchorage off Waitangi. This place has deep significance for the New Zealand nation; in 1840 the ‘Treaty of Waitangi’ was signed between the then British Crown and the Maori Chiefs. Each February 6th is is a National Public holiday and they descend in droves to the Treaty grounds to celebrate with pomp and ceremony. Up to 60,000 attend with dignitaries, members of Parliament and VIPs. No such ‘crowd’ was there to greet us and, apart from the “Azamara Quest”, also at anchor, we had the place to ourselves. We had to board a (compulsory) pilot for the last short miles and then he disembarked.
Pilot boat
Our route into the Bay
Our final anchorage. We are to the west of our designated track, the “Quest” took our spot.
Having used our starboard anchor and 5 ‘shackles’ of chain, we kept our heading, (to provide a ‘lee’, or shelter), to our port side tender platform. In case you wonder, 5 shackles equates to 75 fathoms of chain, or 450 feet, 137 meters.
Karen was off for a wander, (more of her photos later), while I remained on board for the most of the day, a brief interlude ashore for your photos and then back to the ship. The photo above was taken close to the ‘Treaty Grounds’ where the document was signed.
Pilot boat, Immigration boat and 2 of our tenders, waiting for ‘clearance’
One of Karen’s. Us and the ‘A.Q” at anchor, we look alike, until one gets close; we are on the right.
A Maori war-canoe, used in the ceremony, lies under shelter until the day in question
Off ashore, it’s the ‘little’ things that count. The grass had been mowed, the aroma assailed one’s nostrils and I even took my (uniform) shoes off so I could feel it under my feet 🙂
Some of my crew enjoying the grass too!
Now it’s Karen’s turn. Initially, the ladies took the tender to Waitangi pier and then took one (of the many) inter-island ferries to ‘Russel’, once the shore-leave destination for sailors, whalers and traders during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was an established Maori settlement prior to Captain Cook’s arrival. From the early 1800’s, whalers found Kororareka, (as it was called), an ideal provisioning port and it gained a reputation as a ‘lawless and bawdy’ port, becoming known as the “Hell Hole of the Pacific”, sounds like my sort of place! 😆
Now of course, it is a destination for holidaymakers and shoppers…….
‘Christ church’, the oldest church in New Zealand; it still has the bullet holes in it, from the Maori Wars
The ladies enjoying some of the magnificent wine from the region. I was aghast when I saw this, “3 glasses each???” I was assured they were ‘flights’ for wine-tasting purposes, yeah right, I thought
Karen 2 with the inevitable shopping 🙁
I leave you with a more humorous photograph, that of Tom, the Dining Room manager and I, during dinner one evening. Our DR stewards were in fact wearing the hats, however we ‘borrowed’ them for this candid shot.
